Regenerative medicine holds extraordinary potential for the development of therapies which may change the future for those suffering from organ loss due to accident, defect, or disease. Understanding developmental signaling pathways may unlock the promise not only of tissue regeneration, but of cancer inhibition.
For example, in the development of liver tissue, the undifferentiated endodermal germ layer is patterned to form liver, intestine, pancreas, and accessory organs by the action of a variety of signaling pathways. The plasticity of endodermal progenitors at early stages of development, and the mechanisms regulating endodermal cell fate and subsequent organ growth are poorly understood. The liver remains capable of repair and regeneration in the adult, thus further elucidation of the pathways regulating liver development may clarify mechanisms of tissue homeostasis and regeneration. As the progression of disease states involves the reaction of primitive cell programs of proliferation and differentiation, a better understanding of tissue organogenesis may provide targets for pharmaceutical intervention to, for example, inhibit carcinogenesis or, conversely, enhance tissue regeneration.